CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE JICARILLAAPACHE TRIBE 0F THE JICARILLA APACHE INDIANRESERVATION, NEW MEXICO

PREAMBLE

We, the members of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, desiring
to assume more responsibility for our welfare, to make secure the land
and resources of our reservation for ourselves and our children, and to
work with the Government of the United States in administering the affairs
of our reservation, adopt, the following constitution and by-laws as our
guide.

ARTICLE I-STATEMENT OF FEDERAL RELATIONSHIP

We request the United States Government to continue
its established relationship with the Tribe by continuing to furnish such
help as health services, education, advisory employees, and a superintendent
and to discharge the other responsibilities now exercised by the Federal
Government until we become adjusted to assuming more responsibility.

ARTICLE II-TERRITORY

The jurisdiction of the Jicarilla Apache Indian Tribe
shall extend to all land within the boundaries of the Jicaiilla Apache
Indian Reservation, which was established by the Executive Orders of February
11, 1887, and November 11, 1907, amended January 28, 1908, and to such
land as has been or may be acquired by the Tribe or by the United States
and held in trust for the Tribe or any members thereof.

ARTICLE III-MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Jicarilla Apache Indian Tribe shall
extend to all persons of Indian blood whose names appear on the official
census roll of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation of 1937 and to all children
one-fourth or more Indian blood, not affiliated with another tribe, born
after the completion of the 1937 census roll to any member of the Tribe
who is a resident of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. Membership
by adoption may be acquired by a three-fourths majority vote of the
tribal council and the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

ARTTCLE IV-RIGHTS OF MEMBERS

All members of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe shall enjoy
equal rights to life, liberty, industrial pursuits, and the economic resources
and activities of the Tribe. No person shall be denied the right to worship
as he pleases, to speak and write his opinions, to assemble with others,
and to petition for the redress of grievances.

ARTICLE V-TRIBAL ORGANIZATION

SECTION 1. The Representative Tribal Council.-The
tribal organization shall consist of a Representative Tribal Council of
eighteen members elected from six districts as follows:

District 1, LaJara

4

District 2, Boulder and Stinking Lanes

2

District 3, Horse Lake

2

District 4, Burns Canyon

2

Distirct 5, La Juita and Carracus

2

Distirct 6, Dulce and Dulce Lake

6

SECTION 2. Location of Districts.-All
six distircts are located in the North Half of the Jicarilla Apache
Reservation where permanent homes are located.
No. 1. LaJara District, South of line
between Townships 29 North and 30 North, and West of Continental Divide;
No. 2. Boulder and Stinking Lakes District,
South of line between Townships 29 North and 30 North, and East of the
Continental Divide;
No. 3. Horse Lake District, East of Lookout
Divide and North of Boulder and Stinking Lakes District;
No. 4. Burns Canyon District, North
of line between Townships 29 North and 30 North, Range 2 and 3 West, approximating
the BurnsCanyon drainage area;
No. 5. La Juita and Carracus District, Townships
31 North and 32 North, Range 3 West;
No. 6. Dulce and Dulce Lake District, Townships
31 North and 32 North, Range 2 West, Cordova Canyon. area and other undefined
areas.
SECTION 3. Qualifications of Council Members.-Members
of the Representative Tribal Council must reside within the district from
which they are chosen or be identified therewith, and must have reached
at least the age of twenty-eight years on their last birthday.
SECTION 4. Tenure of Office.-The one-half
number of the members of the Representative Tribal Council receiving the
largest number of votes in their respective districts in the first election
shall hold office for four years and the same number of members enjoying
a smaller number of votes in their respective districts, shall hold office
for two years, and thereafter all members shall be elected for four years.
SECTION 5. Executive Committee.-An Executive
Committee composed of five members shall be selected by the Representative
Tribal Council from its own members, which shall act for the Representative
Tribal Council and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, as may be authorized by
the Council. The Executive Committee shall be responsible to the Representative
Tribal Council, and the Council shall be responsible for the membership
of the Executive Committee and may make changes thereof from time to time
as tribal welfare in their opinion may warrant.
SECTION 6. Meetings of Council and Committee.-RepresentativeTribal
Council shall meet on the first Saturday in May and the first Saturday
in October of each year, at Dulce, New Mexico, or such other place as may
be designated by the Council or Executive Comittee, and at such other dates
as called by the Council or Executive Committee. Ten members of the
Representative Tribal Council shall constitute a quoroum. The Executive
Committee shall meet at the Agency Office, Dulce, New Mexico, or such other
place as it may decide, at such times as the business of the Tribe may
require, and three members thereof shall constitute a quorum.

ARTICLE VI-POWERS OF THE REPRESENTATIVE TRIBAL COUNCIL

SECTION 1. It shall be the responsibility of
the Representative Tribal Council to exercise the powers of the Jicarilla
Apache Tribe. These powers are all the powers which the Jicarilla Apache
Tribe has possessed in the past and in addition those powers which are
specifically named in section 16 of the Act of June 18,1934, and those
which are given to the Council in this Article. The exercise of these powers
shall be subject to any limitations imposed by the Constitution and Statutes
of the United States.
SECTION 2. Management of Tribal Land.-The
Council shall have power to use and manage the unallotted land of
the reservation not reserved for Government purposes, in conformity with
the regulations of the Secretary of the Interior for the protection of
the natural resources of the land, issued under section 6 of the Act of
June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984). The Council may use such land for tribal
enterprises, or lease it in accordance with law, giving first preference
to Jicarilla Apache Indian associations and individual Indians of the Jicarilla
Apache Tribe, or assign it to members of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe who
need land, for their individual use, in accordance with regulations adopted
by the Council and, subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior.
SECTION 3. Council Funds.-The Council may
expend funds coming into its hands for public purposes, the assistance
of needy persons, and for expenses of tribal government and activities.
SECTION 4. Peace and Order.-The Council may
make regulations, subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior, to
protect the peace, safety, morals, and general welfare of the reservation,
to provide a means of settling disputes, and to regulate the domestic relations
of members of the Tribe.
SECTION 5. Conduct of Council Business.-The
Council may regulate its own procedure and make rules governing the appointment
duties, removal from office, and term of office of such
officers and committees as are necessary, their procedure and conduct of
tribal business, and may delegate to such officers and committees, subject
to its review, the exercise of any of its powers.
SECTION 6. Review by Secretary.-Any resolution
or regulation which, by the terms of this Constitution, is subject to review
by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be presented to the Superintendent
of the reservation, who shall, within ten days thereafter, approve or disapprove
the same.
If the Superintendent shall approve any regulations
or resolution, it shall thereupon become effective, but the Superintendent
shall transmit a copy of the same, bearing his endorsement, to the Secretary
of the Interior, who may, within 90 days from the date of enactment, disapprove
the said regulation or resolution for any cause, by notifying the Council
of such disapproval.
If the Superintendent shall refuse to approve any
resolution or regulation submitted to him, within 10 days after its enactment,
he shall advise the Council of his reasons therefor. If these reasons
appear to the Council insufficient, it may by a majority vote, refer the
regulation or resolution to the Secretary of the Interior, who may, within
90 days from the date of its enactment, approve the same in writing, whereupon
the said regulation or resolution shall become effective.

ARTICLE VII-SELECTION OF COUNCIL MEMBERS

SECTION 1.- Elections.-The first election
of the Representative Tribal Council shall be held within the summer season
of or immediately following the ratification and approval of the Constitution.
After the first election, elections for the Representative Tribal Council
shall be held within 60 days prior to expiration of the terms of office
of members of the Representative Tribal Committee.
SECTION 2.-Supervision of Elections.-The
Commissioner of lndian Affairs, shall call and supervise the first election,
and thereafter the Council in office shall call, and, in a fair and democratic
manner, regulate and supervise the holding of tribal elections, including
the manner of making nominations for tribal offices.
SECTION 3.-Qualifications for Voting.-Any
member of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe having reached the age of twenty-one
years and having resided on the reservation for six months, prior to the
date of the election shall be entitled to vote.
SECTION 4.-Vacancies. Vacancies in the Tribal
Representative Council caused by death or resignation may be filled until
the next election by majority vote of the Council from qualified residents
of the district concerned. If no regular election occurs within six
months after the vacancy is created, the Council shall call a special election
within that period in the district concerned to fill the position.
SECTION 5. Removal.-By a vote of three-fourths of the Representative
Tribal Council members may be removed from membership thereof for improper
conduct or neglect of duty, but such position shall remain
vacant until filled at an election. If no regular election occurs
within six months after such removal, the Council shall call a special
election within that period in the district concerned to fill the position.

ARTICLE VIII-LAND AND RESOURCES

Ownership of land is inalienable except to the Jicarilla
Apache Tribe or between members of the Tribe. Natural resources of all
the land, tribal and allotted, of the reservation shall be conserved.
They may be developed for industrial or other purposes only in a way consistent
with the general welfare of the Tribe as a whole, and the Council may insure
the observance of these provisions. No per capita payment in cash shall
ever be made to members of the Tribe except by the consent of 75 per cent
of the qualified voters of the Tribe and the approval of the Secretary
of the Interior.

ARTICLE IX-TRIBAL EXPENSE IN CARE OF AGED, ETC.

This being a grazing country with the sheep industry
as primary source of income, and in appreciation of tribal responsibility
for the aged and incapacitated, there shall be maintained a flock of sheep
not out of proportion to the total sheep population, the returns of which
shall go to care for the aged and incapacitated. The returns coming into
the hands of the Representative Tribal Council from any portion of
the flock assigned for general tribal purposes may be used to meet actual
expenses of the tribal organization.

ARTICLE AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

This Constitution and By-laws may be amended by a
majority vote of the qualified voters of the Tribe voting at an election
called for that purpose, by the Secretary of the Interior, provided at
least 30 per cent of those entitled to vote shall vote in such election.
At the request of two-thirds of the Representative
Tribal Council, or at the request by petition of one-third of the qualified
voters, the Secretary of the Interior may call an election to amend this
Constitution and By-laws.

ARTICLE XI-ADOPTION OF CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

This Constitution and By-laws when ratified by a
majority vote of the adult members of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe
at a special election called for that purpose by the Secretary of the Interior
provided that at least 30 per cent of those entitled to vote shall vote
in such election, shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior,
and if approved shall be effective from the date of approval.
I, Harold L. Ickes, the Secretary of the Interior
of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority granted me
by the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984), as amended, do hereby approve
the attached Constitution and By-laws of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe of
the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, New Mexico.
All rules and regulations heretofore promulgated
by the Interior of Indian A:ffairs, so far as they may be incompatible
with any of the provisions of the said Constitution and By-laws are hereby
declared inapplicable to the Jicarilla Apache Tribe of the Jicarilla Apache
Indian Reservation.
All officers and employees of the Interior Department
are ordered to abide by the provisions of the said Constitution and By-laws.
Approval recommended July 29, 1937.
JOHN COLLIER,
Commissioner of Indian Affairs.HAROLD L. ICKES,
Secretary of the Interior.[SEAL]
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 4, 1937.

CERTIFICATION OF ADOPTION

Pursuant to an order,
approved June 29 by the Secretary of the Interior, the attached Constitution
and By-laws was submitted for ratification to the members of the Jicarilla
Apache Tribe of the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, New Mexico, and
was on July 3 duly approved by a vote of 242 for, and 2 against, in an
election in which over 30 per cent of those entitled to vote cast their
ballots, in accordance with section 16 of the Indian Reorganization Act
of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984), as amended by the Act of June 15, 1935
(49 Stat. 378).
GROVER VIGIL,
Chairman of the Election Board.NORMAN TECUBE,
Secretary of Election Board.A.E. STOVER,
Superintendent in Charge.